Published 4:00 am, Saturday, June 2, 2007

Photo: Google, Inc.

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

There's no hiding from Google - at least in several U.S. cities, where the company has taken snapshots up and down the streets, and made the images available through its online maps. A guy walking into a porn shop, women sunning themselves in a park, a man apparently trying to hop over an apartment building gate - they're all caught in the act, raising complaints that Google is trespassing on personal privacy. The new product, unveiled Tuesday, is Google Street Views, and offers users the ability to see images along city boulevards, as if driving along in a car. Cruising around San Francisco, for instance, shows people sitting at cafes, walking along the sidewalk and taking out the trash. Users can zoom in to get close ups of faces, and into house windows. The images were taken by Google, and a partner company, over several months in a handful of cities, including San Francisco, Denver, New York, Miami and Las Vegas. No real time images are available. Privacy groups, and a number of individuals, expressed worries that the product crosses the line by showcasing people who never consented to themeselves or their homes being photographed. Google countered that the service only features what's visible from public streets and is therefore within the law. less

There's no hiding from Google - at least in several U.S. cities, where the company has taken snapshots up and down the streets, and made the images available through its online maps. A guy walking into a porn ... more

There's no hiding from Google -- at least in several U.S. cities where the company has taken snapshots up and down the streets and posted the images via its online mapping service.

And while many people are thrilled with the new service, others aren't. For instance, there's the guy who was photographed walking into an adult bookstore on Eddy Street in San Francisco. Then there are the women sunning themselves topless in a park at Stanford. And the man trying to climb over the security gate outside an apartment buildingon South Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. They were all caught by the camera lens, and now their actions reside on the Internet for all to see, raising complaints that Google is invading personal privacy.

The new mapping product, unveiled Tuesday, is called Google Street Views, and it allows users to see city streetscapes as if they were driving along in a car. The cruise around San Francisco, for instance, shows people sitting at cafes, walking along the sidewalk and taking out the trash.

Users can zoom in to get close-ups of faces, and sometimes even into house windows.

The images were taken by Google and a partner company over several months in a handful of cities, including San Francisco, Denver, New York, Miami and Las Vegas. No real-time images are available.

Privacy groups, and a number of individuals, expressed worries that the product crosses the line by showcasing people who never consented to having themselves or their homes photographed. Google countered that the service only features what's visible from public streets and is therefore within the law.

In typical Internet fashion, many of the most salacious views are being aggregated on various sites around the Web. To see for yourself, go to Google maps and click on the "Street view" button.

Online resources

To see some of the humorous photos available on Google Street Views, go to:

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.